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© The Rockefeller University Press,
0021-9525/2001//881 $5.00
The Journal of Cell Biology, Volume 153, Number 4,
, 2001 881-888
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Nascent Focal Adhesions Are Responsible for the Generation of Strong Propulsive Forces in Migrating Fibroblasts
yuli.wang{at}umassmed.edu
Fibroblast migration involves complex mechanical interactions with the underlying substrate. Although tight substrate contact at focal adhesions has been studied for decades, the role of focal adhesions in force transduction remains unclear. To address this question, we have mapped traction stress generated by fibroblasts expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP)-zyxin. Surprisingly, the overall distribution of focal adhesions only partially resembles the distribution of traction stress. In addition, detailed analysis reveals that the faint, small adhesions near the leading edge transmit strong propulsive tractions, whereas large, bright, mature focal adhesions exert weaker forces. This inverse relationship is unique to the leading edge of motile cells, and is not observed in the trailing edge or in stationary cells. Furthermore, time-lapse analysis indicates that traction forces decrease soon after the appearance of focal adhesions, whereas the size and zyxin concentration increase. As focal adhesions mature, changes in structure, protein content, or phosphorylation may cause the focal adhesion to change its function from the transmission of strong propulsive forces, to a passive anchorage device for maintaining a spread cell morphology.
Key Words: focal adhesions cell movement cell adhesion molecules actomyosin fluorescence microscopy
© 2001 The Rockefeller University Press
| Introduction |
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Although it is clear that focal adhesions are involved in anchoring cells to the substrate, little is known about active contractile forces that might be transmitted through these structures to propel directional movements. A particularly intriguing issue is that, during the migration of a fibroblast, mechanical interactions at hundreds of focal adhesions must be coordinated in order to maintain both the direction of migration and the morphology of the cell in an efficient manner. To address this question, it is crucial to generate maps of both dynamic focal adhesions under a migrating fibroblast, and traction forces that a cell exerts on the substrate. We have now achieved this goal by combining recent developments in mapping traction forces and in green fluorescent protein (GFP) technology.
The output of the mechanical forces exerted by a migrating cell can be detected on elastic substrates. Early applications of wrinkling silicone sheets serve as a crude way to detect forces, but provide little or no quantitative information (Harris et al. 1980; Burton and Taylor 1997). Improvements in technology, mainly as a result of embedding beads into flexible substrates, have since allowed quantification of forces through large scale matrix computation that converts maps of substrate deformation (detected as local bead movements) into maps of traction stress (force per unit area; Oliver et al. 1998; Dembo and Wang 1999). The technique has further been refined into a form of microscopy, in order to provide images or movies of the magnitudes of traction stress at a temporal resolution within 1 min (Munevar et al. 2001). We have applied this approach to address several important questions. First, we asked if strong propulsive forces can be detected at focal adhesions, and if larger focal adhesions generate stronger traction forces. Second, we analyzed how forces exerted by focal adhesions in different regions are coordinated during cell migration: specifically, whether all focal adhesions exert forces in a similar manner, or whether a subset of adhesions is responsible for cell migration. Our results suggest that small, nascent focal adhesions at the leading edge exert transient forces to move the cell forward, whereas mature focal adhesions serve primarily as anchors to the substrate. This strategy allows the fibroblasts to migrate efficiently and responsively, without complex coordination of the mechanical output among the adhesion foci.
| Materials and Methods |
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Preparation of Polyacrylamide Substrates
Flexible polyacrylamide substrates were prepared and coated with type I collagen as described by Wang and Pelham 1998, with the following modifications: (a) a concentration of 5% acrylamide and 0.08% bisacrylamide was used; and (b) the concentration of fluorescent latex beads was increased by 6.25-fold in order to obtain a higher density of deformation vectors. The substrate had a Young's modulus of 2.4 x 104 newtons/m2, measured as in our previous studies (Lo et al. 2000). This flexibility was high enough to allow reliable determination of traction-induced deformation, but not to induce drastic changes in cell morphology or growth as reported previously with softer surfaces (Pelham and Wang 1997; Wang et al. 2000).
Microscopy
Cells plated on polyacrylamide substrates were observed with an Axiovert 100TV microscope (Carl Zeiss, Inc.). A Nikon 60x Plan-Apo water immersion objective lens was used to overcome the spherical aberration introduced by the polyacrylamide substrate. GFP-zyxin was detected with an optimized GFP filter set, and the red fluorescent beads were detected with a TRITC filter set (Chroma Technologies). A 100-W quartz halogen lamp was used for epiillumination in order to minimize radiation damage to the cell. Fluorescence images were collected using a cooled CCD camera with an EEV57 back-illuminated chip and an ST133 controller (Roper Scientific), at intervals of 1–2 min for 30–60 min. Each pixel on the camera images an area of 0.2 x 0.2 µm. At the end of recording, the cell was removed with a microneedle in order to record the distribution of beads without cellular traction forces. IRM of fixed cells on glass coverslips was performed by removing the emission filter from the fluorescence filter, and reducing the size of the epiillumination field diaphragm.
Calculation of Traction Stress and Monte Carlo Simulation
Traction stress was determined as described previously (Dembo and Wang 1999; Munevar et al. 2001). In brief, deformation of the substrate was determined as a matrix of vectors, by comparing the distribution of embedded beads in the presence and absence of the cell. The vectors were generated at a density of one per 2.25 µm2, where the deformation was at a density of at least two pixels along the x or y direction, and one per 9 µm2 elsewhere. The projected area of the cell was then divided into small quadrilaterals with a center-to-center distance of 1–2 µm. Traction stress at the center of each quadrilateral was assigned with a maximum likelihood algorithm using a supercomputer, such that the combination of traction stress across the cell yielded the observed pattern of substrate deformation (Dembo and Wang 1999). Traction stress between the centers of quadrilaterals was then generated by interpolation. After rendering the magnitude of traction stress as different intensities or colors, the distribution of traction stress was visualized as either a map of vectors or as an image. To analyze the relationship between traction stress and the intensity of zyxin, the pixel with the highest intensity of GFP-zyxin within a focal adhesion was determined and was plotted against the corresponding magnitude of traction stress.
Monte Carlo simulation was performed by assigning 16 force vectors of various magnitudes at random locations within a 35 x 35 µm square. The stiffness of the substrate was assumed to be identical to that used in the experiment. To simulate the situation in a real cell, a bias in direction was imposed such that these forces have a tendency to parallel one another in a local region and to point toward the center of the square. Exact displacement vectors of the substrate were calculated at a density of one per 2.8 µm2. Each vector was averaged with neighboring vectors within an area of 6.5 x 6.5 µm. This occurs during the actual detection of substrate deformation, based on the cross correlation of bead patterns in finite areas. Gaussian random noise equivalent to 0.3 pixel (0.065 µm) was then added to the x and y components of the displacement, and the magnitude was rounded to the nearest equivalent number of pixels. These modified displacements were then used as the basis for reconstructing the original traction field.
| Results |
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The resolution of traction stress calculation was tested with Monte Carlo simulation. Hypothetical delta traction forces, similar in pattern and magnitude to what were observed with 3T3 fibroblasts (Dembo and Wang 1999), were applied to a defined area of a flexible surface. The deformation was calculated and degraded to mimic the loss of resolution during data collection (Materials and Methods). The modified deformation map was then treated as data for the calculation of a reconstructed traction stress distribution, which was compared with the original traction field. The results from 30 such simulations under various conditions indicated that our measurements were able to resolve pairs of delta function tractions, with a similar magnitude and orientation, separated by 5–6 µm (Fig. 1). The resolution of perpendicular forces was approximately two times better. As long as the deformation was higher than the noise, the resolution was not significantly affected by the stress magnitude.
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Smaller, Fainter Plaques Exert Strong Traction Forces in the Leading Lamella
To further determine the relationship between traction stress and the intensity of GFP-zyxin, we focused on the frontal lamella region where propulsive forces for cell migration were located. Contrary to our initial speculation, scatter plots of traction stress versus zyxin intensity showed a reverse relationship. Despite the spread of the data points, due in part to the limited spatial resolution relative to the high density of focal adhesions in this region and the heterogeneity of plaques, it was clear that faint focal adhesions generally exerted stronger traction stress than did bright focal adhesions (Fig. 4 a). Analysis of the length of focal adhesions yielded a similar inverse relationship with traction stress (Fig. 4 b). From the high magnification view of the leading lamella (Fig. 4 d), it was also clear that traction stress was not simply a function of the distance from the leading edge. Furthermore, when similar analysis was applied to the tail region, the inverse relationship between GFP-zyxin intensity and traction stress was no longer detected (Fig. 4 c).
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| Discussion |
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Although several models have been proposed to explain the coordination of fibroblast migration, most of them are vague with respect to cell–substrate mechanical interactions. Although it is commonly assumed that such interactions are mediated by focal adhesions, our observations suggest a more complex relationship between adhesions and propulsive forces during the cyclic process of cell migration (Fig. 5). The process begins with the extension of the lamellipodia and the engagement of the integrins with the extracellular matrix. Subsequent recruitment of cytoskeletal components at nascent focal adhesions (Miyamoto et al. 1995) causes the generation of a pulse of propulsive traction force on the substrate. These focal adhesions may also be mobile under some conditions (Davies et al. 1994; Smilenov et al. 1999; Zamir et al. 2000). The plaques then either disassemble or mature into large focal adhesions, whose function changes from active propulsion into passive anchorage. This mechanism has several significant advantages. First, a division of labor between propulsive adhesions and anchorage adhesions at the leading edge, which was speculated previously (Rottner et al. 1999), would allow the cell to migrate while maintaining its spread morphology. Second, since cell migration is driven by transient pulses of propulsive forces in the leading lamella, minimal coordination is required among mechanical interactions at a multitude of focal adhesions. Finally, our mechanism facilitates rapid reorientation in response to environmental cues, simply by shifting the assembly of nascent focal adhesions to a new protrusive region. Because large, mature focal adhesions take a long time to assemble and are essentially fixed in orientation and position (Smilenov et al. 1999), it is very difficult to see how the traction forces and cell migration can change and adapt if such mature adhesions are responsible for propelling forward movement.
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| Acknowledgments |
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This study was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health to Y.-l. Wang, K.A. Beningo, and M. Dembo.
Note added in proof: A recent paper (Balaban, N.Q., U.S. Schwartz, D. Riveline, P. Goichberg, G. Tzur, I. Sabanay, D. Mahalu, S. Safran, A. Bershadsky, L. Addadi, and B. Geiger. 2001. Force and focal adhesion assembly: a close relationship studied using elastic micropatterened substrates. Nat. Cell Biol. 3:466–473) describes the measurements of traction forces in relatively stationary cells. See In Brief for a discussion of the relationship between the two studies.
Submitted: 5 February 2001
Revised: 27 March 2001
Accepted: 28 March 2001
This work was presented at the 43rd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Cell Biology in San Francisco, CA, December, 2000.
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